November 18
St. Anna Greek Orthodox Church
Publish Date: 2018-11-18
Bulletin Contents
Saints and Feasts
Hymns of the Day
Gospel and Epistle Readings
Wisdom of the Fathers
Ministry News
Bulletin Inserts
Stewardship
St. Anna Greek Orthodox Church
General Information
- Phone:
- (908) 968-4004
- Fax:
- (908) 968-4002
- Email:
- stannagoc@gmail.com
- Street Address:
- 85 Voorhees Corner Road,
- Flemington, NJ 08822
Contact Information
Services Schedule
Weekly Services
(Please note schedule subject to change. Please call church office to confirm times.)
Sunday Services: Orthros 8:15 am; Divine Liturgy 9:15 am. Followed by Sunday School and Fellowship Hour in our Community Center.
Weekly Feastday / Major Saint Day Liturgies: 9 am Orthros followed by Divine Liturgy.
Past Bulletins
- Publish Date:
- 2018-11-25
- Publish Date:
- 2018-11-11
- Publish Date:
- 2018-11-04
- Publish Date:
- 2018-10-28
- Publish Date:
- 2018-10-21
- Publish Date:
- 2018-10-14
Saints and Feasts
November 21
The Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple
According to the tradition of the Church, the Theotokos was brought to the Temple at three years of age, where she was consecrated to God and spent her days until she was fourteen or fifteen years old; and then, as a mature maiden, by the common counsel of the priests (since her parents had reposed some three years before), she was betrothed to Joseph.
November 25
Catherine the Great Martyr of Alexandria
Saint Catherine, who was from Alexandria, was the daughter of Constas (or Cestus). She was an exceedingly beautiful maiden, most chaste, and illustrious in wealth, lineage, and learning. By her steadfast understanding, she utterly vanquished the passionate and unbridled soul of Maximinus, the tyrant of Alexandria; and by her eloquence, she stopped the mouths of the so-called philosophers who had been gathered to dispute with her. She was crowned with the crown of martyrdom in the year 305. Her holy relics were taken by Angels to the holy mountain of Sinai, where they were discovered many years later; the famous monastery of Saint Catherine was originally dedicated to the Holy Transfiguration of the Lord and the Burning Bush, but later was dedicated to Saint Catherine. According to the ancient usage, Saints Catherine and Mercurius were celebrated on the 24th of this month, whereas the holy Hieromartyrs Clement of Rome and Peter of Alexandria were celebrated on the 25th. The dates of the feasts of these Saints were interchanged at the request of the Church and Monastery of Mount Sinai, so that the festival of Saint Catherine, their patron, might be celebrated more festively together with the Apodosis of the Feast of the Entry of the Theotokos. The Slavic Churches, however, commemorate these Saints on their original dates.
Hymns of the Day
Resurrectional Apolytikion in the Plagal Fourth Mode
You descended from on high, O compassionate One, and condescended to be buried for three days, so that from the passions You might set us free. Our life and resurrection, O Lord, glory be to You.
Apolytikion for Great Martyr Plato in the Fourth Mode
Thy Martyrs, O Lord, in their courageous contest for Thee received as the prize the crowns of incorruption and life from Thee, our immortal God. For since they possessed Thy strength, they cast down the tyrants and wholly destroyed the demons' strengthless presumption. O Christ God, by their prayers, save our souls, since Thou art merciful.
Seasonal Kontakion in the Fourth Mode
Today, the most pure temple of the Savior, the precious bridal chamber and Virgin, the sacred treasure of God, enters the house of the Lord, bringing the grace of the Divine Spirit. The Angels of God praise her. She is the heavenly tabernacle.
Gospel and Epistle Readings
Epistle Reading
Prokeimenon. Plagal Fourth Mode. Psalm 75.11,1.
Make your vows to the Lord our God and perform them.
Verse: God is known in Judah; his name is great in Israel.
The reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Ephesians 4:1-7.
Brethren, I, a prisoner for the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all lowliness and meekness, with patience, forbearing one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.
Gospel Reading
9th Sunday of Luke
The Reading is from Luke 12:16-21
The Lord said this parable: "The land of a rich man brought forth plentifully; and he thought to himself, 'What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?' And he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns, and build larger ones; and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, 'Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.' But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." As he said these things, he cried out: "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
Wisdom of the Fathers
I cannot be silent about the story of Hesychius the Horebite. He passed his life in complete negligence, without paying the least attention to his soul. Then he became extremely ill, and for an hour he left his body.
Ladder of Divine Ascent. Step 6: On Remembrance of Death, 6th Century
And when he came to himself, he begged us all to leave him immediately. And he built up the door of his cell, and he stayed in it for twelve years without ever uttering a word to anyone, and without eating anything but bread and water.
Ladder of Divine Ascent. Step 6: On Remembrance of Death, 6th Century
Ministry News
Church Calendar:
Daily Liturgy during the Christmas Fast, 9 am (except for November 23 and November 27)
Wednesday, November 21: Entrance of the Theotokos to the Temple, Orthros and Divine Liturgy, 9 am
Thursday, November 22: Special Thanksgiving Liturgy - 830 am start time
Thursday, November 29: Great Vespers of St. Andrew, 7 pm at St. Andrew Church, Randolph, NJ
Thursday, November 8: Archangels Michael and Gabriel, Orthros and Divine Liturgy, 9 am
Monday, December 3: Great Vespers of St. Barbara, 7 pm at St. Barbara Church, Toms River, NJ
Wednesday, December 5: Great Vespers of St. Nicholas, 7 pm at Roseland and Wyckoff churches, NJ
SAVE THE DATES
Saturday, December 8: Great Vespers of St. Anna, 7 pm
Sunday, December 9: Parish Feastday - Conception by St. Anna of the Virgin Mary, Orthros followed by Divine Liturgy
EDUCATION: There is ongoing registration for both the Sunday School and Greek School. Forms are located in the Narthex and online at www.stannagoc.org.
Sunday School contact: aimeedouvris@gmail.com. Greek School contact: msfondouris@gmail.com
Now through December 9, our Community is invited to donate food and personal care items for the Flemington Area Food Pantry. The Flemington Area Food Pantry provides food and personal care items to needy Hunterdon County families. All Sunday School and Greek School students will be coming home with a bagto hopefully be returned with an item. A box will be located outside the Fellowship Hall. Your help in filling the box is most appreciated.
SAVE THE DATE: Our Sunday School Christmas Pageant and Greek School Christmas Program will held be on Sunday, December 23. Light refreshments will be served afterwards.
Adult Greek School: Adult Greek classes will begin on January 9, 2019 and run through mid-May. If anyone is interested please Maria Sfondouris or Father by December 10, in order to plan accordingly. Contact: msfondouris@gmail.com
Adult Bible Study: Adult Bible Study is on Fridays from 12 – 1 pm. Please let Fr. A know if you are interested. All are welcome!
Philoptochos: Please sign up for our annual Philoptochos Christmas Dinner on Wednesday, December 19, 6:30 pm at Al Fresco’s. Cost is $30. Deadline to sign up is December 2. See Zoi Kaldes for reservations or details.
PC CORNER:
This weekend, November 17 and 18, we are holding our first Holiday Eat and Shopevent. Thank you to all that volunteered for this brand new event to help support our ministries.
At the Fall GA meeting, there was a desire by few Stewards to have a discussion and see how we will make good on our premise of "Reflecting the Son's Light".The PC is organizing a meeting on November 27 at 6:30 pm at the Churchto start the discussion, share ideas, and see how we can move this forward. This meeting is open for any steward who wants to participate.
Iconography: The Iconostasion is installed! Iconography continues with the installation of the Dome Icons.Please have patience and be careful around the scaffolding in the Church. We want everyone to stay safe.
On Sunday December 9, the Saint Anna Feast Day, the PC will be offering FASOLADA (bean soup Greek style) after Church. Please join us.
This is a repeat message for those who may not have seen the information which was published previously. The Wine and Dine event was cancelled, and those who had paid were informed that they could get their money back, or donate it to the church. Please see the Treasurer if you have not been able to so by now.
Fellowship Hour: Contact John Giannouris at (610) 680-7507 or john.giannouris@comcast.netif you are interested in sponsoring Fellowship Hour. Thank you.
Bulletin Inserts
Sunday School Registration Form 2018-19
For the upcoming 2018-19 school year. First day on Sunday, September 23.
Greek School Registration Form 2018-2019
For the upcoming 2018-19 school year. First day on Monday, September 24.
Stewardship
STEWARDSHIP: Stewardship is the sharing of the talents and treasures that God has provided for us. An Orthodox Christian Steward is an active participant in the life of the Church. The parish encourages all who accept the Orthodox Faith to become practicing Stewards.
2018 Stewardship Status: We have 144 Pledges totaling $141,435 for an average of $ 982 and $117,271 received to date. We also have 8 families who have contributed $5,900 to date but have not submitted a stewardship card. It is important that all families complete a stewardship card to be considered a steward. Current Stewardship List is printed below and is posted in bulletin board by water cooler.
We need everyone’s participation to exceed this year’s stewardship pledge target of $175,000. If the remaining 27, 2017 stewards give at the same level as last year we could exceed our budget and reach a record high number of stewards.
…Remember a rich man is not one who has much, but one who gives much...
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